Day 10 - Tuesday January 27, 2026 - Cagliari Sardinia

 

Finally got my first picture of a tired puppy

And then there was a second picture of an even more tired puppy

An unexpected turn of events led us to Cagliari on the very southern tip of Sardinia today rather than two a C day on our way to Algiers’s and Morocco.  High winds we’re expected west of here, meaning Algiers and Morocco, so the captain advised us yesterday evening that we would be heading north from tuna to Sardinia.

We arrived at our port, Cagliari at about 8:30 AM. We took the hastily prepared “included” tour, which was both a bus ride as well as a walking tour of the old city.

Views from the bus as we left the port

Sactario di Nosyra Signora Di Bonaria

All in all, it was a pretty good included tour that lasted about 3 1/2 hours. The bus ride was all uphill to the top of Cagliari For some pretty views over the skyline of the town. We were also able to see the old city and the old fortress walls from there as well.

In the far distance is the Old City where we eventually would go for the walking part of our tour

At that point, we left the bus and started our one hour walking tour, which, for a breathing purposes was great that it was all downhill, but my knees don’t like downhill angles.

One of the old gates into the Old City just wide enough for one car, but people walk through it as well.

They call us the elephant tower and it’s the highest point in the city

And here’s the elephant (how it got its name)or a pig with a long nose.

There are some really pretty old buildings and narrow cobblestone streets as you would expect. Sardinia is ruled by Italy.  And a lot of these streets were reminiscent of some of the older towns in Italy that we visited.

Carabinieri or Military Police headquarters in Sardinia

More pictures of the old gates leading into the old city built by the Phoenicians 

There’s a faint remnant of the word Mussolini on the right end of the building.

Much of this area was

Bombed by allied bombing in WWII

It’s an old building and it obviously needs a lot of work with the netting surrounding areas that are probably falling down on the street but I still think it’s a neat looking building

Prefecture - Territorial government office building

We stopped at a cathedral in town, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta e Santa Cecilia built in 1254.  The cathedral is designed in the form of a Latin cross.  The prettiest churches all across Europe are the Baroque churches. The Gothic churches are tall and dark and not a lot of beauty inside. This one was pretty.

As many cathedrals and churches, as I have been in since starting my travels, it might be that I learned something new today. One identifying Mark of a cathedral versus a church is the double cross on the top of the outside structure. I hope I got that right from our tour guide.  

From there, we walked downhill pretty much all the way outside the gates Of the old city annd into the modern world. The market or shopping Street with all of the high-end stores, confronted us and we continued to walk down to the square, Piazza Yenni.  We had some free time there to purchase the requisite, souvenirs, and then stopped for a coffee while we waited for the bus to take us back to the ship.

Last looks at the gates of the walled city as we walked back into the modern world

Lion’s Gate aptly named for the lions

Walking down the shopping district road

The old man hobbling down the street

Time for souvineets and a latte

Viking really does do a pretty good job of providing tours in a city where there was never expected to be a stop or port call. Their support staff in various cities around the world appears to work overtime when a stop is made in less than 24 hours.

Lunch on the ship and then 3 games of cribbage.  I’m down at least 3 games and probably more.   I just don’t get the cards!  That’s my story.

Tomorrow is a sea day as we head for Palma, Mallorca Another unplanned port, but this island belongs to Spain.  We will actually be in a Spain all the way back to Barcelona next Tuesday when we depart for home.

8,066 steps today.